Sweeney Todd is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I love gory movies and this one got me started. It showed me that revenge is something to wait for but not to kill for, because it will not be how you will expect it to be. I beleive that if he hadn't been so bent on revenge, he wouldn't have killed his wife and found out she was still alive and had forgotten the judge.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Movie is darker, much bloodier than stage musical.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 16 and Up
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Parents need to know that this feature-film version of Stephen Sondheim's Tony-winning 1979 Broadway show isn't as family friendly as most musicals (and star Johnny Depp definitely isn't in Pirates of the Caribbean mode). In fact, there's enough blood in this dark story to rival a slasher flick. There are dozens of throat slittings, cannibalism (via pies made out of human meat), and -- it can't be said often enough -- pints and pints of blood spattered everywhere. And if that's not enough, a woman is raped, a girl is wrongfully committed to an institution, and a young boy drinks gin, helps dupe people, and murders someone.
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More on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
What’s the Story?
Tim Burton's adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's legendary musical stars Johnny Depp as Sweeny Todd, the demon butcher of Fleet Street. Todd particularly despises London and everyone in it -- he's just arrived back after 15 years in prison, and he's thirsty to avenge those who away took his life (specifically, his wife and baby daughter). Todd returns to Fleet Street to kill the Judge (Alan Rickman) who wrongfully imprisoned him in order to seduce Todd's wife. But it's soon clear that if his nemesis won't do Todd the honor of staying for "the closest shave he's ever had," the gifted, psychopathic barber will make do with slashing the throat of any customer. His accomplice, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who remembers Todd from when he was the happily married Benjamin Barker, turns the fresh cadaver meat into tasty meat pies. And with her to cover up his many slashed corpses, Todd becomes a 19th-century serial killer with an ever-growing appetite. The blood spraying everywhere seems to prod him further and further to continue his messy work.
Is It Any Good?
Anyone familiar with Sondheim's revenge tale will be ready for a fair amount of blood and gore. But those less versed with the source material should be warned: This is not a general-audience Rodgers & Hammerstein production. Burton is the ideal director to tackle this particular musical, since he's a master at theatrically dark and moody sets. He doesn't disappoint, perfectly bringing Sondheim's bleak London -- "a great black pit" inhabited by the "vermin of the world" -- to the screen. Depp and Bonham Carter are excellent performers who obviously work seamlessly with Burton (one is his acting muse, and the other is the mother of his children). But trained singing voices aren't part of their skill set. Depp's is passable -- actually, better than expected -- but Bonham Carter's upper range is awful, and she has to make up for her shaky voice by talk-singing most of the lyrics. Still, despite their lack of singing prowess, they're otherwise well cast as an odd couple of Fleet Street crazies.
All of the supporting characters have significantly better voices, like the lovelorn Antony (James Campbell Bowers) and Todd's teenage daughter/the Judge's ward Johanna (Jayne Wisener), who's a vision of cornsilk hair and first-Soprano sweetness. And viewers will especially love Sacha Baron Cohen's appearance as swindling Italian barber Signor Pirelli, complete with hammy accent and bushy mustache. While Sweeney Todd offers an abundant amount of blood, it has equal doses of humor and wit. But if you're squeamish, be prepared to spend the second half of the film covering your eyes. And fans of the musical should know up front that they'll be underwhelmed by the singing. Still, it's true to the story, has a dazzling score, and is definitely worth seeing.
Movie Details
Studio: Paramount, Director: Tim Burton
Run time: 117 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/21/2007, DVD release: 03/31/2008
MPAA Rating: R for graphic bloody violence.
Run time: 117 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/21/2007, DVD release: 03/31/2008
MPAA Rating: R for graphic bloody violence.
Our Members Say
See all 116 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
Blood and revenge.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Prefect for Kids
Great movie!It's not scary and i love songs!Good movie!I was watch it with 10 years
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
Sweeney Todd
Really dark and really cool. Great for teens who would like to see a gorey movie. As for the younger of the species, i'd leave them at home.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
Lots of fake blood
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Really well done musical. Johnny depp does a wonderful job with the singing. There is a lot of blood but it looks somewhat fake and the rape scene is not apparant and no nudity is shown, just the party guests are watching and laughing. I believe tweens and up would be fine watching this movie.
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I rate this title off for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Most tweens love gore, but stay on your guard!
I watched it and i LOVED IT!!! The violence isnt as bad as you think it would be; sure it was gorey in some ways but almost and tween or teen of 13-14+ could tell the "bloody scenes" were totally fake. The singing was phenominal, very rich and cultural. To this day i still like singing those entrancing songs by johnny depp and helena bohem carter. In this movie swearing isnt a big issue. Curse words were only detected five or six times in the whole movie. I think the rating of 16+ is unreasonable! If you tell your tween(13-15)no, odds are theyll find ways to watch it without you knowing!!! And for adults, this movie was spectacular=D
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
Lower than tweens and above.
It does not say the "F" word at all, I saw this as a pre-teen and enjoyed it. A very great film, and I highly recommend it. I doubt it should be rated R, it contains everything a pg13 does, except that blood pours out like Niagra falls, every scene isn't as dark as these dumb review sites potray them as. Let your kids get a taste of the good life- Horror yet very musical-ish enough to please an adult into a twisted romantic story.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
Lower than tweens and above.
It does not say the "F" word at all, I saw this as a pre-teen and enjoyed it. A very great film, and I highly recommend it. I doubt it should be rated R, it contains everything a pg13 does, except that blood pours out like Niagra falls, every scene isn't as dark as these dumb review sites potray them as. Let your kids get a taste of the good life- Horror yet very musical-ish enough to please an adult into a twisted romantic story.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
AMAZING MOVIE!!!!!
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!! I saw it when i was 11 tjhere is yes alot of blood but so much it is beyond gore and almost in a sense humorous.Any one who you are concerned about seeing the rape scene will most likely not understand it ( no nudity or view of thwe actual act) There are no F**K"s in this movie there are two s**ts and thats it!
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
AMAZING MOVIE!!!!!
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!! I saw it when i was 11 tjhere is yes alot of blood but so much it is beyond gore and almost in a sense humorous.Any one who you are concerned about seeing the rape scene will most likely not understand it ( no nudity or view of thwe actual act) There are no F**K"s in this movie there are two s**ts and thats it!
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
Okay for some, depending on how you handle blood
This is my new favorite movie. I love it, and my friends love it. I just don't think that kids ten and under would be able to handle the blood. I personally think that the blood is just an addition to the movie/play, and the main plot is about a man who was mentally hurt by an evil judge and wants revenge. ~an eleven-year-old girl
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
Great movie. . But realy bloody. . .
I watched this movie. It's a wonderful movie. Great acting and sining. But it's just so BLOODY! There is one brief scene where this guy rapes a woman while people sit around and laugh. (You don't see anything, but she does scream quite a bit). I wasn't very disturbed, but that's just me. I don't think kids around ten or so could handle it too well.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
Before I start my review...
I just gotta say that I am impressed by the kid reviewers here. You have shown much more maturity when reviewing this, an r-rated film, than most kid reviewers show when reviewing PG-13 or even PG movies. You all deserve a round of applause for actually going against that dumb stereotype that young people can't handle the sight of blood. Anyway, today was sadly my first time ever watching this movie. I hadn't even seen the screenplay before. I was beyond impressed. This is one of the greatest musicals I have ever seen, and it's not very common that a serious musical directed towards adults comes along. The characters were well-developed and the only important characters who die are those who deserve it. This is a great film that should at least be viewed once by those who can handle the sight of blood.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
Know your kid... should be fine
Absolutely my favorite movie ever. I think with this movie you just have to know what ur kid can handle. I was 11 (and sensitive) when i first saw this movie and I wasn't scared at all. Very high quality. great acting and directing. Kids around my age relate well to the humor.
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I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
There is NO RAPE or SEXUAL ASSULT IN THIS FILM! They DO NOT use the F word!
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
On for 10+, Iffy for 9+ Off for 8-
Believe it or not, I was not scared in this movie. If you like musical (i love them) then you will like this movie.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
Teens and adults will fall in LOVE with this movie!
This is an amazing movie! The music and singing was executed perfectly, and the story was very creative. People are complaining that there is too much blood, but come on, it's called the DEMON barber of Fleet Street. I think it's incredibly good, and that young children shouldn't see it, but teens DEFINITLY should.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Negative role models
IT'S A VIOLENT FILM THAT IT'S ON YOU IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO SEE SWEENEY SLIT PEOPLES THROATS.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
good if you like some violence and dont mind lots of blood
this movie is very good, really! my word of caution for this movie is that you need to understand the message that revenge will never end up doing good and that this is a Tim Burton film! there will be lots of blood, but my thoughts on that are that it is just a way of making a point and also, why would anyone really bleed like that! i mean, come on! but i saw this movie when it was i was 12 and i never took any of it as reality so if you have the same mind set as me, then you would like this movie.
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| 88% | of parents say it's too violent |
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